Zane was getting more annoyed by her yelling voice, despite trying hard not to be affected by it. His ears were itchy from the continual shouting she directed at him.
After a short time, Anastasia noticed they had brought her to a nearby five-star hotel from the ceremony hall. She continued to call for help from the onlookers around, but no one dared to confront them.
Damien stepped into the elevator and put her down when Zane ordered him to. After that, he stepped out of the elevator, leaving her with his boss, who then pressed a button and the elevator door slowly closed.
In the elevator, there was a momentary silence as the elevator was ascending; Anastasia felt her soul was about to leave her body for good, feeling the ground beneath her feet wanted to open and swallow her.
She stood behind him, her eyes glued to his back, with her chest heaving up and down in fury while she felt dwarfed by his imposing and brooding presence.
She was fighting with her vengeance burning inside her like a furnace, which compelled her to strike a knife on his back to pierce right into his heart. However, she shook off that thought from her head as her conscience quivered at having such a thought.
When they arrived at the 11th floor, Zane stepped out first, walking down the long, narrow corridor with his hands in his suit pants pocket while she sheepishly followed him.
"Where are we heading to?" she asked for the sixth time but he ignored her as she added. "You should at least give me an answer since you abducted me from the ceremony."
"Your refusal to accompany me left me no alternative but to take you by force. If you're curious about our destination, I'll inform you that we're going to my bedroom." Zane finally answered her while he walked his way to his suite door.
"I understand I'm alluring to get your attention, but I cannot be with you in your bedroom which is not right," Anastasia said with her voice revealing discomfort.
"Is there something wrong with us being together in my bedroom?" Zane stopped in front of his suite door.
He opened the door with a keycard before he turned around to face her, noticing she remained angry and uneasy to follow him here.
"Of course, It is wrong for us to be in your bedroom. I'm a famous artist who needs to be considerate of her reputation. Anyway, whatever thing you have to say, you can say it to me. I'm all ears from here." She stood still in her spot, six steps away from him.
"I see that you are scared to be under me tonight. So tell me, why are you scared of us sharing a passionate night, woman?" He asked as if he could read her thoughts.
His head had been aching on his way here from the hallway because of her voice, which reminded him of the woman he loathed most. He shut his eyes, holding back his emotions.
A passionate night was a big fat lie from his lips because he never had one with her in their failed marriage nor will he do it now. Well, Anastasia preferred to spend her passionate nights with strange men in the club than being intimate with him again.
"It would be weird if something like that transpired between us. I mean, this is our first meeting after all." She answered, playing along with him.
Zane snickered in amazement at her words and then opened his eyes. He observed she was a headstrong lady, seeing how determined she was to stand away from him like a doorman.
Zane approached her and held her wrist. "If you didn't show up at the ceremony this evening with this kind of voice, there wouldn't be a chance of you being in front of me now."
As Zane finished speaking, he pulled her from her spot, and she faltered on her High-heeled stiletto, bringing her inside his restroom. He released her hand and shut the door behind them.
"So tell me, why are you at the ceremony?" He inquired, his voice evoking irritation at her presence and voice, which he tried hard to resist, but something kept pulling his interest into her.
"It is my pleasure to celebrate with Mr. Morris at his inauguration ceremony since the President of the elite RIS group invited me," she answered with an alluring smile, knowing she was also here to ruin his ceremony as a sly smile lingered inside of her.
She wondered why he remained fine when he was supposed to be reacting to the drink that she told Emery to serve him earlier. Perhaps it was not yet time for a reaction, but she could not wait any longer.
"I can see you are happy to attend the ceremony but..." Zane trailed his words, sauntering towards her while she retreated to maintain a distance between them.
Anastasia's heart continued to beat at a faster pace than it ever did in the hall as she noticed him advancing toward her with his usual foreboding aura that made the air in the restroom grow intense.
She tried to maintain a distance between them, taking a step backward till her back collided with the wall, preventing her from taking the next step.
Zane came closer to her and covered the gap between them. His hand tenderly moved across her slender waist, pulling her closer to his arm.
He lowered his upper body and leaned on her neck while he inhaled the fragrance that engulfed her, smelling like a water lily that was distinct from Selina's
He brought back his frosty eyes to stare deeply into her eyes while his sinister eyes concealed thousands of unspoken things for her to seize.
He still didn't understand why he felt captivated by her when she had nothing to do with Selina.
"Why do you sound like the woman who was long dead?" Zane was piercing his eyes into her eyes as if searching for a certain familiar soul.
Anastasia felt his warm breath prickling her face, and she shivered under the tip of his cold, devilish, long fingers that stroked down her cheeks.
She was feeling an excruciating ache in her heart under his touch while she fought to maintain intense eye contact with him.
His cold eyes reminded her of how cruel they were to shut down her plea on that night when she begged for her life to be spared.
Her moist gaze moved from side to side, seeking a delicate spot to look into, but there was none as she glanced away, clenching her fist.
"Answer me, who are you?" Zane demanded again as he sounded impatient to hear an answer from her, who was hesitant to speak, and it was driving him nuts.
Anastasia gulped down dry for the third time with clear eyes back on him and then introduced herself. "I'm Anastasia Beverley, a famous artist in the MAY entertainment industry."
"Anastasia Beverley," Zane muttered her name and wondered where he had once heard her name, but he couldn't remember it.
Zane left her in the restroom. Shortly, he returned with a cotton pad and facial cleansing water.
He held the products to her, saying assertively. "Take it and remove your make-up."
"Do you expect me to wipe off my effort to look pretty tonight and go barefaced? Why should I do that?" Anastasia was not ready to cleanse the makeup off her face.
She was uncertain what disaster awaited her once he saw her face and Emery was not nearby to save her.